Method for feeding a component

ABSTRACT

An occurrence component lack at a component arrangement position, designated by a mounting program, of a component feed part, which feeds components to be mounted, is determined. Whether a spare component for the lacking component to be mounted is present in a spare component feed area of the component feed part is determined, and supply of the component to be mounted from a designated component arrangement position of the component feed part is switched to supply of the spare component from the spare component feed area.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for feedingcomponents which are supplied to a component holding member, such as amounting head or the like, which removes the components from a componentfeed part and in turn mounts the removed components to a mountingposition on a printed board. The present invention also relates to amethod for mounting components supplied by the component feed method tothe board, and an apparatus for mounting the components supplied by thecomponent feeding apparatus to the board.

BACKGROUND ART

Productivity improvement has been required in component mountingapparatuses these days. Particularly, production interruption subsequentto switching of product types (kinds) and lack of components adverselyinfluences productivity, and therefore improvement in this field isstrongly demanded.

Prior art known for enhancing operation of a component feed part of acomponent mounting apparatus is disclosed, e.g., in Japanese UnexaminedPatent Publication No. 60-206098.

This prior art apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS.10 and 11.

A constitution of an entire component mounting apparatus will beschematically depicted first. FIG. 10 shows a component mountingapparatus of a high-speed type, and FIG. 11 shows a component mountingapparatus of a multi-functional middle-speed type.

In FIG. 10, a component mounting apparatus 10 of a high-speed typecomprises an operation part 11, a control part 12, mounting heads 13, amounting table 14, a transfer rail 15, and a component feed part 16. Thecomponent feed part 16 loads a plurality of parts cassettes 16 a whichslide to feed predetermined components to the mounting heads 13. Themounting table 14 holds printed boards 1, and positions the boardssequentially to mount the predetermined components.

In FIG. 11, a component mounting apparatus 110 of a multi-functionalmiddle-speed type comprises an operation part 111, a control part 112, amounting head 113, a board recognition device 113 a, a componentinspection part 113 b, a mounting table 114, a transfer rail 115, and acomponent feed part 116. The component feed part 116 is equipped with aparts cassette 116 a, a bulk cassette 116 b, a parts tray container part116 c, and parts trays 116 d, so that many kinds of components 5 can besupplied from the component feed part 116. The mounting head 113 removesan electronic component 5 from the component feed part 116, moves thecomponent to a predetermined component mounting position of the mountingtable 114, and then mounts the component onto a printed board 1.

The following description will be directed to how a component feed partis conventionally switched to cope with a lack of components in acomponent mounting apparatus.

FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of an example of a conventionalexchange mode, FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of an example of aconventional preparation mode, and FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematicdiagrams of examples of a conventional switch mode in an alternateoperation and a mounting program, respectively.

According to the conventional exchange mode shown in FIG. 8A, componentfeed part 16, 116 is divided into two groups A and B, and the same partsare arranged at the same positions in groups A and B, respectively, sothat, for instance, group A if lacking in components is switched forgroup B.

In the conventional preparation mode shown in FIG. 8B, the componentfeed part 16, 116 is divided into two groups A and B and, components tobe mounted to A-type boards and B-type boards are arranged in groups Aand B, respectively, thereby coping with switching of types of boards tobe produced.

As is disclosed in publication No. 60-206098 referred to earlier,according to the conventional alternate operation shown in FIGS. 9A and9B, spare components are removed from cassettes of a preliminarilydesignated spare component feed part when a component feed part lackscomponents (in other words, the component feed part is switched for thespare component feed part), so that production is continued. Morespecifically, when a parts cassette P1 by way of example is depleted ofcomponents in the component feed part 16, 116, the component feed partis switched to a feed position Z1=Zn, Zn=Zn+1 designated by sparecomponent information 20 c, thereby automatically switching to sparecomponents to continue production.

In the above-described prior art constitution, it is necessary toconstruct the component feed part for spare components into units foreach kind of board to be produced, or set spare components at thecomponent feed part in the same arrangement for each kind of board to beproduced; that is, it is necessary to assign component information(referred to as spare component information hereinafter) indicatingrespective set positions of spare components at the component feed partwithin a mounting program (relating to NC program or componentarrangement or the like) designed for mounting components to printedboards of optional kinds.

Components should be set at a designated component feed position at thecomponent feed part. A mounting program indicating the spare componentinformation should be formed for each kind of board in the case ofproduction of a wide variety of bands with a relatively low volume.Moreover, the mounting program should be replaced, or a similarpreparation process is needed for switching kinds of boards to beproduced. In other words, switching is complicated and takes time,thereby increasing an operator's burden for preparation, management, andthe like of the switching.

If spare components are set at a wrong position at a time of switchingproduction, and when the component feed part is depleted of components,components designated as spare components at a component feed position,although this position is wrong, are automatically continuously mountedduring an exchange mode or alternate operation, resulting in a qualityissue.

During execution of the exchange mode or alternate operation, operationis wasted if components are mounted in a mounting order before beingchanged, thereby greatly worsening production time per one board, i.e.,mounting cycle time, and thus productivity is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is devised to solve the above-described issues,and has for its object to provide a method and an apparatus for feedingcomponents and a method and an apparatus for mounting components, whichrealize production of higher flexibility, high productivity, and highquality during an exchange mode or alternate operation of automaticallyswitching components with spare components even though component lackhas occurred, and enables continuous mounting of components to boards.

In accomplishing these and other objects, according to a first aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a component feed method whereina component is supplied from a component arrangement position at acomponent feed part designated by a mounting program when the componentis to be mounted at a mounting position on a printed board based on themounting program.

The method includes:

-   -   a component lack detection process of detecting a lack of a        component to be mounted, which is designated by the mounting        program, at a component arrangement position of the component        feed part;    -   a spare component detection judgment process of determining        whether or not a spare component for a lacking component to be        mounted is loaded in a spare component feed area of the        component feed part, and judging whether or not the spare        component is located within the spare component feed area; and    -   a spare component switch process of switching supply of the        component to be mounted from a designated component arrangement        position of the component feed part to supply of the spare        component from the spare component feed area, when the spare        component is judged to be present in the spare component feed        area during the spare component detection judgment process.

According a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided acomponent feed method according to the first aspect, wherein the sparecomponent feed area of the component feed part during the sparecomponent detection judgment process is an area other than a componentfeed area at which component supply is designated in the mountingprogram designed for mounting a component to a printed board of anoptional type. Accordingly, supply of the component, to be mounted, fromthe component feed area of the component feed part is switched duringthe spare component switch process to supply of the spare component fromthe spare component feed area when the spare component is judged to bepresent in the spare component feed area during the spare componentdetection judgment process.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda component feed method according to the first aspect, wherein the sparecomponent feed area of the component feed part during the sparecomponent detection judgment process is an area overlapping a componentfeed area at which component supply is designated in a mounting programdesigned for mounting a component to a printed board of an optionaltype. Accordingly, supply of the component, to be mounted, from thecomponent feed area of the component feed part is switched during thespare component switch process to supply of the spare component from thespare component feed area when the spare component is judged to bepresent in the spare component feed area during the spare componentdetection judgment process.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda component feed method according to any one of the first to thirdaspects, wherein whether or not the spare component, for the lackingcomponent to be mounted, is loaded in the spare component feed area ofthe component feed part is determined, during the spare componentdetection judgment process, from component data which stores beforehandinformation on types or characteristics and arrangement positions ofcomponents arranged in the spare component feed area of the componentfeed part, thereby judging whether or not the spare component is presentin the spare component feed area.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda component feed method according to any one of the first to thirdaspects, which includes, prior to the spare component detection judgmentprocess, a spare component designation process of preliminarilydesignating and registering a component arrangement position of a sparecomponent of the component feed part which can replace a component to bemounted if the component feed part lacks this component. Also, duringthe spare component detection judgment process a spare componentcorresponding to a lacking component to be mounted is detected fromspare components of the component feed part designated and registeredduring the spare component designation process, thereby judgingpresence/absence of a spare component corresponding to a lackingcomponent to be mounted.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda component mounting method, which includes a component mounting orderreorganization process such that after a spare component isautomatically switched during the spare component switch processsubsequent to component lack during the component feed method accordingto any one of the first to fifth aspects, a mounting order is operatedin conformity with a component feed state switched for the sparecomponent, thereby regenerating a mounting program.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a component mounting apparatus which removes a component from acomponent arrangement position designated by a mounting program of acomponent feed part on the basis of the mounting program, and mounts thecomponent at a mounting position on a printed board.

The apparatus comprises:

-   -   a component lack detection device for detecting lack of a        component to be mounted at the component arrangement position of        the component feed part designated by the mounting program,    -   a spare component detection judgment device for determining        whether or not a spare component for a lacking component to be        mounted is loaded in a spare component feed area of the        component feed part, and judging whether or not the spare        component is located within the spare component feed area, and    -   a spare component switch device for switching supply of the        component to be mounted from the designated component        arrangement position of the component feed part to supply of the        spare component from the spare component feed area when the        spare component is judged to be present within the spare        component feed area by the spare component detection judgment        device.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a component feeding apparatus according to the seventh aspect,wherein the spare component feed area of the component feed part judgedby the spare component detection judgment device is an area other than acomponent feed area at which component supply is designated in themounting program designed for mounting the component to a printed boardof an optional type, so that supply of the component to be mounted fromthe component feed area of the component feed part is switched by thespare component switch device to supply of the spare component from thespare component feed area when the spare component is judged to bepresent in the spare component feed area by the spare componentdetection judgment device.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda component feeding apparatus according the seventh aspect, wherein aspare component feed area of the component feed part judged by the sparecomponent detection judgment device is an area overlapping with acomponent feed area at which component supply is designated in themounting program designed for mounting a component to the printed boardof an optional type, so that supply of the component to be mounted fromthe component feed area of the component feed part is switched by thespare component switch device to supply of the spare component from thespare component feed area when the spare component is judged to bepresent in the spare component feed area by the spare componentdetection judgment device.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda component feeding apparatus according to any one of the seventh toninth aspects, wherein whether or not a spare component for a lackingcomponent to be mounted is loaded in the spare component feed area ofthe component feed part is determined by the spare component detectionjudgment device from component data which stores beforehand informationon types or characteristics and arrangement positions of componentsarranged in the spare component feed area of the component feed part,thereby judging whether or not the spare component is present in thespare component feed area.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a component feeding apparatus according to any one of theseventh to ninth aspects, which comprises a spare component designationdevice for preliminarily designating and registering, prior to sparecomponent detection judgment, a component arrangement position of aspare component at the component feed part which can replace a componentto be mounted if the component feed part lacks the component, while thespare component detection judgment device detects a spare componentcorresponding to the lacking component, to be mounted, from sparecomponents of the component feed part designated and registered by thespare component designation device, thereby judging presence/absence ofthe spare component corresponding to the lacking component to bemounted.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a component mounting apparatus, which includes a componentmounting order reorganization device for, after a spare component isautomatically switched by the spare component switch device subsequentto component lack in the component feeding apparatus according to anyone of the seventh to eleventh aspects, operating a mounting order inconformity with a component feed state switched for the spare component,and thereby re-generating a mounting program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and features of the present invention willbecome clear from the following description taken in conjunction withthe preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a component mounting method including acomponent feed method (free alternate operation) according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a mounting control partof a component mounting apparatus according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is partial perspective view schematically showing the componentmounting apparatus equipped with the component feed method and componentmounting method according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view schematically showing a componentmounting apparatus equipped with a component feed method and a componentmounting method according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5A is a schematic explanatory diagram of how spare components areswitched at a component feed part in the component mounting apparatusaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention, that is, indetail, a schematic diagram of an arrangement example at the componentfeed part with a component feed area and a spare component feed area;

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of a mounting program for two types,i.e., A and B types of boards;

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram of an arrangement example of the sparecomponent feed area of the component feed part;

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram indicating a part of amounting control part for carrying out a spare component designationprocess during a component mounting feed method according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flow of processes of a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing an example of a conventional exchange mode;

FIG. 8B is a diagram showing an example of a conventional preparationmode;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams of examples of the conventionalexchange mode during an alternate operation and a mounting program;

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of a conventional example of ahigh-speed type component mounting apparatus;

FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view of a conventional differentexample of a multi-functional middle-speed type component mountingapparatus; and

FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view schematically showing thecomponent mounting apparatus equipped with the component feed method andcomponent mounting method according to the second embodiment, which hasa multi-nozzle type mounting head for holding a plurality of, four inthe figure, components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be notedthat like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout theaccompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

A component feed method, a component feeding apparatus, a componentmounting method, and a component mounting apparatus according to a firstembodiment of the present invention will be discussed with reference tothe drawings.

The first embodiment will be described on the basis of componentmounting apparatus 201 which is equipped with a component feedingapparatus so as to execute a component mounting method including acomponent feed method. The component mounting apparatus 201 isschematically formed as a component mounting apparatus of a high-speedtype shown in FIG. 10 of the prior art except for control part 12, andtherefore will be described with reference to FIG. 10. Parts of the samefunction as in the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the component mounting method includingthe component feed method according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing amounting control part 200 of the component mounting apparatus 201 whichreplaces the control part 12. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 is amemory part, and reference numeral 20 a is a mounting program stored inthe memory part 20. Reference numeral 20 b is component data stored inthe memory part 20 and showing component arrangement data consisting ofcomponent arrangement positions at a component feed part 16. Referencenumeral 20 c is spare component information having spare component datasuch as types of spare components, or properties of spare components, ortypes and properties and arrangement positions of spare componentswritten in the memory part 20. Reference numeral 21 is an input/outputcontrol part for controlling inputs and outputs of information andsignals from external devices or members to the memory part 20 andcontrol parts 22-26 described below. Reference numeral 22 is a componentfeed control part functioning as an example of a spare componentdetection device, for controlling supply of components 5 from partscassettes 16 a of component feed part 16, and for detecting anoccurrence of component lack. Reference numeral 23 is a recognitioncontrol part for controlling recognition of positions and attitudes ofcomponents 5 sucked and held to a plurality of mounting heads 13supported by a rotary head, which rotates to pass a component feedposition at which the components are supplied from the parts cassettes16 a of the component feed part 16, and a component mounting position atwhich the components are mounted to boards 1. Reference numeral 24 is apositioning control part for controlling positioning of the components5, sucked and held to the mounting heads 13, relative to the boards 1while correcting positions and attitudes of the components 5 based on arecognition result from the recognition control part 23. Referencenumeral 25 is a pressure control part for controlling a press force ofthe mounting heads 13 to thereby mount the components 5 to the boards 1while the components are sucked and held by the mounting heads 13.Reference numeral 26 is a height control part for controlling a heightof a movement area of the mounting heads 13 relative to the boards 1,while taking detected heights of components already mounted to theboards 1 into consideration, when heights of the components 5 sucked andheld by the mounting heads 13 are detected. Subsequently, the componentsare mounted to the boards 1. Reference numeral 202 is a CPU forcontrolling operations of each driving, part of the component mountingapparatus 201, for controlling information read and write operations toand from the memory part 20, and for controlling operations of thecontrol parts 21-26. Also as indicated in FIG. 3, the mounting controlpart 200 is connected to rotary head 301, mounting heads 13, componentfeed part 16, board recognition device 13 a, component inspection part13 b, mounting table 14, and component information detection part 18,while controlling not only operations related to determination andjudgment and switching of spare components to be detailed later, butalso controlling an entire mounting operation.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the constitution of the component mountingapparatus 201 of the first embodiment, the mounting control part 200replaces the control part 12 in the component mounting apparatus 10 of ahigh-speed type as shown in FIG. 10.

In the component mounting apparatus 201 according to the firstembodiment, electronic components 5 are mounted to printed boards 1 onthe basis of the mounting program 20 a under control of the mountingcontrol part 200. Then, parts cassettes 16 a of the component feed part16 hold therein components 5 to be mounted for each type, or for eachcharacteristic, to fit the mounting program 20 a or componentarrangement data of component data 20 b. The parts cassettes 16 a arearranged side by side at the component feed part 16. A necessarycomponent 5 is supplied each time, on the basis of the mounting program20 a, from a predetermined one of the parts cassettes 16 a to themounting head 13. The mounting head 13 in turn holds the suppliedcomponent and mounts the component at a predetermined mounting positionon printed board 1.

Operation of the component mounting apparatus 201 of the aboveconstitution will be described on the basis of the flow chart of FIG. 1.

At a start of production of printed boards 1 by component mountingapparatus 201, under control of CPU 202, respective control parts 21-26of the mounting control part 200 of FIG. 2 of the component mountingapparatus 201 and mechanical driving parts of the component mountingapparatus 201 are initialized at a mounting start process step (S1) inFIG. 1. In the meantime, a printed board 10 is set to mounting table 14.

Next, at a component take-out and feed process step (S2) in FIG. 1, theCPU 202 reads out component arrangement information in the mountingprogram 20 a and in component arrangement data of component data 20 b ofthe memory part 20, for example, Z1=P1, Z2=P2, Z3=P3, . . . Zm=Pm forA-type boards 1 and Z1=P3, Z2=PX, Z3=P1, Z4=PY, . . . , Zm=Pm for B-typeboards 1, as shown in FIG. 5B, wherein P1-Pm are types of components 5and Z1-Zm are arrangement positions of the parts cassettes 16 a at thecomponent feed part 16; that is, arrangement positions of components 5of respective types.

Next, under control of the CPU 202, component feed control part 22, withjudgement of presence/absence of an occurrence of component lack in acomponent lack detection process step (S3) of FIG. 1, removes acomponent 5 from the component feed part 16. In other words, inaccordance with mounting information of the mounting program 20 a, thecomponent feed control part 22 obtains information on types, arrangementpositions, and the like, of the components 5 to be mounted to the board1 by the mounting head 13, and judges whether or not each of thecomponents 5 to be mounted is stored in the parts cassette 16 a set at adesignated component arrangement position in the component feed part 16.If a component 5 to be mounted is present and stored in a designatedparts cassette 16 a, the process proceeds to a next process.

During a positioning and mounting process step (S4) in FIG. 1, the partscassette 16 a, which is designated at step (S3) and is judged not tolack a component, is slid to a component feed position of the mountinghead 13, where the desired component 5 is sucked and held by themounting head 13. While this component 5 is suitably controlled bypositioning control part 24 and other control parts (for instance,controlled by the positioning control part 24 to be moved to a mountingposition while being prevented by a height control part from collidingwith other components, and being corrected in position and attitude soas to be mounted at a mounting position), the component 5 is accuratelypositioned by the mounting head 13 under control of the CPU 202 to themounting position designated by the mounting program 20 a, and mountedto the printed board 1 on the mounting table 14 as designated by themounting program 20 a.

During step (S5) of FIG. 1, the CPU 202 judges, based on the mountingprogram 20 a, whether or not another component 5 to be mounted to thesame board 1 remains. The CPU 202 repeats procedures from step (S2) tostep (S4) until one sheet of the printed board 1 is completely finished.When a mounting operation is completed, a mounting end process isperformed at step (S6) of FIG. 1. A finished board 1 is removed from themounting table 14 while the CPU 202 performs board removal control.

During the component lack detection process step (S3) in FIG. 1, if thecomponent feed control part 22 judges that a component of the same typeas the component 5 to be mounted is absent from component data 20 b, orin other words, as shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, if, for example, a P1-typecomponent arranged at component arrangement position Z1 on a left end ofthe component feed part 16, is absent, spare component detectionjudgment process (S10) and spare component switch process (S11), whichcharacterize the component mounting method of the first embodiment(named “a free alternate” operation), are adopted, which will bedetailed hereinbelow. Specifically, in the free alternate operation,there is a known device, as a component detecting device, for reading bya reading device a memory feature, such as a bar code or the like,installed in the component feed part, for storing types of components,as is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-164398,during the spare component detection judgment process (S10) of FIG. 1,thereby obtaining stored information to detect components. Referring toFIG. 3, for instance, component information detection part 18, whichreads or writes component information from or to a component informationmemory 17, such as IC or the like arranged in the parts cassette 16 a asone example in the prior art, is adapted to set as a spare componentfeed area 16 s, component arrangement positions Zn, Zn+1, Zn+2, Zend,other than the component arrangement positions Z1-Zm of a component feedarea 16 n generally used at the component feed part 16, in componentarrangement data of the mounting program 20 a and component data 20 b.Component type information PX, P1, P1, . . . , PY at componentarrangement positions of the spare component feed area 16 s aresequentially read out, whether or not the P1-type spare component forthe component P1 to be mounted next is present is judged, and the partscassette 16 a storing the P1-type spare component is detected within thespare component feed area 16 s of the component feed part 16. In a casewhere the spare component of the type is not detected, production isstopped at once at the component mounting apparatus 201 under control ofthe CPU 202 until an operator of the apparatus 201 supplements theP1-type components to the component feed part 16. On the other hand,when the P1-type spare component for the component P1 to be mounted nextis detected at arrangement position Zn+1 of the spare component feedarea 16 s, during the spare component switch process (S11) of FIG. 11the CPU 202 temporarily stores in the memory part 20 the P1-type sparecomponent, at the spare component arrangement position Zn+1 in the sparecomponent feed area 16 s, as spare component information 20 c, in placeof the P1-type component at arrangement position Z1. Thereafter,component arrangement positions of component arrangement data of themounting program 20 a and the component data 20 b are switched to aspare component arrangement position in the spare component feed area 16s for a lacking P1-type component, so that production is continued undera switched condition. Later again, if P1-type spare components atcomponent arrangement position Zn+1 are depleted, the same procedures at(S10) and (S11) are executed, whereby a P1-type spare component atcomponent arrangement position Zn+2 is used to continue production.

Supposing that the memory part 20 of the component mounting apparatus201 contains the mounting program 20 a for two types, A and B types, ofboards 1 as indicated in FIG. 5B, after B type boards 1 are started tobe subjected to mounting, subsequent to a type switch from the A type toB type, even when P1-type components at component arrangement positionZ3 for a B type board 1 are depleted, a P1-type spare component atcomponent arrangement position Zn+1 is detected in the same manner as in(S10) and (S11), and is used in place of a P1-type component at thecomponent arrangement position Z3 of the B type board 1. Accordingly,continuous production is ensured irrespective of types of boards to beproduced.

Referring to FIG. 5C, during supply of a P1-type component 5 by theparts cassette 16 a, at component arrangement position Zn+1 of thecomponent feed part 16, to the mounting head 13, even if the componentinformation detection part 18 detects that a spare component atarrangement position Zn+1 changes to be type PZ halfway through thesupply due to, for example, an operator's mishandling of components orsetting of a wrong spare component for a C type board to be producednext, component arrangement position Zn+2 can be detected and judgedcorrectly through procedures similar to (S10) and (S11) as a sparecomponent at component arrangement position Z3 for a P1-type component.Wherever spare components are arranged, therefore, arrangement positionscan be surely searched via a spare component detection judgment processand a spare component switch process, thus allowing free positionalarrangement of spare components as well as easy exchange of sparecomponents. Moreover, errors in setting components can be prevented, andpreparation for subsequent production is prevented from adverselyinfluencing current production. Quality in setting, and the like isimproved.

According to the first embodiment described hereinabove, sparecomponents can be automatically detected from the component feed part 16where the parts cassettes 16 a and parts trays 16 d, which containcomponents, are set optionally. Therefore, need for setting componentsat component arrangement positions of the component feed part truly asdesignated is eliminated, and also need for forming a mounting programdesignating spare component information for every type of board to meetproduction of many types, i.e., various types of boards, is eliminated.Trouble of switching types of boards to be produced, or management work,and the like can be reduced. More specifically, even during anoccurrence of component lack in the component mounting apparatus 201,whether or not spare components are present in the component feed part16 is automatically detected without interrupting production, and thespare components detected are used to continue production, therebyimproving productivity. Components set at the component feed part 16 areused as spare components only when components, which types are detected,are judged to agree with a type to be mounted. Generation of failuresresulting from wrong supplement, or wrong setting of components, iseffectively prevented, and product quality is improved.

The spare component feed area 16 s may not be fixed in position in thecomponent feed part 16, but the component feed part 16 in its entiretymay be allotted as the spare component feed area 16 s. Or, the componentfeed part 16 is divided to a plurality of blocks, and one block thereofincluding a specified number of arrangement units, or some blocks, areassigned as the spare component feed area 16 s; or, componentarrangement positions Zn-Zend, which are part of component arrangementpositions Z1-Zend of the component feed part 16, can be designated asthe spare component feed area 16 s. Since the spare component feed area16 s can be freely set in the component feed part 16, more preferableand more flexible free alternate operation is realized.

Spare component information 20 c is not limited to data stored that isdifferent from component arrangement data of the mounting program 20 aor component data 20 b, and can be information included in the mountingprogram 20 a or component arrangement data of component data 20 b.

Second Embodiment

A component feed method, a component feeding apparatus, a componentmounting method, and a component mounting apparatus according to asecond embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIG. 4.

A component mounting apparatus 211 equipped with a component feedingapparatus so that a component mounting method, including a componentfeed method (free alternate operation), can be carried out will bediscussed as the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 4, the component mounting apparatus 211 is schematicallyconstituted of a conventional component mounting apparatus 110 of amulti-functional middle-speed type as shown in FIG. 11, while havingmounting control part 200 in FIG. 2 instead of control part 112. Thismounting control part 200 is connected, as is clear from FIG. 4, to anXY robot, a mounting head 113, component feed part 116, a boardrecognition device 113 a, a component inspection part 113 b, a mountingtable 114, and a component information detection part 118, therebycontrolling not only operation at a time of spare component detectionjudgment and switching, but during an entire mounting operation. In thesecond embodiment, a spare component detection judgment process and aspare component switch process, almost similar to those of the firstembodiment, are conducted. Operations and parts similar to the firstembodiment or the conventional example are denoted by the same referencenumerals as in the first embodiment or conventional example, anddescription thereof is omitted.

A difference of the second embodiment from the first embodiment is amanner of how to input component information. The component informationdetection part 1118 of the component mounting apparatus 211 is arrangedat a side part of the board recognition part 113 b fixed to a side partof the mounting head 113, which can be moved by the XY robot in an Xdirection and a Y direction orthogonal to the X direction. Componenttype information, and the like, stored in component information memories117, such as ICs or the like, at parts cassettes 116 a, a bulk cassette116 b, and parts trays 116 d removed from a parts tray container part116 c of the component feed part 16, can be detected by the componentinformation detection part 118. In contrast to the first embodiment,wherein component information in component data 20 b or spare componentinformation 20 c stored beforehand in the memory part 20 is utilized todetect spare components within the component feed part 16, according tothe second embodiment component information is not stored preliminarily,and the mounting head 113 is moved to determine component typeinformation, and the like stored in the component information memory117, such as an IC or the like, of the parts cassette 116 a, bulkcassette 116 b, parts tray 116 d removed from the parts tray containerpart 116 c of the component feed part 116, via the component informationdetection part 18 fixed to the mounting head 113. Determined informationis then stored as component data 20 b or spare component information 20c in the memory part 20 via input/output control part 21. Complicatedwork of manually storing component type information in the memory part20 as component data 20 b or spare component information 20 c iseliminated. The second embodiment is an application of the firstembodiment to a mounting apparatus of a multi-functional type adapted toreceive components also from trays, and the like, while exerting thesame effect and action as the first embodiment. Each of the partscassette 116 a, bulk cassette 116 b, and parts tray 116 d removed fromthe parts tray container part 116 c of the component feed part 116, isprovided with information memory according to the second embodiment, andtherefore components can be mounted more correctly.

A two-dimensional bar code, or known QR code (quick response code of amatrix expressing numbers or characters in a machine readable form by acombination of cells (points) and spaces), may be applied as thecomponent information memory 1117 to each component, e.g., QFP or CSPintegrated circuit or a semiconductor component. The board recognitiondevice 113 a may be used as the component information detection part 118to read information.

Third Embodiment

A component feed method, a component feeding apparatus, a componentmounting method, and a component mounting apparatus according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, a spare componentdesignation process ((S20) indicated by a chain line in FIG. 1) isadditionally provided in component mounting apparatus 201, 211, whichincludes a component feeding apparatus so that a component mountingmethod including a component feed method (free alternate operation) canbe executed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a constitution for the sparecomponent designation process (S20) of the component feed methodperformed by the component feeding apparatus, which component feedmethod is performed during the component mounting method that isperformed by the component mounting apparatus according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

In the component mounting method performed by the component mountingapparatus of the third embodiment, conditions such as various operationmodes of free alternate operation, described later, regardless ofwhether the free alternate operation is performed, can be set undercontrol of input/output control part 21 of mounting control part 200 viaan operation part 11 or 111 having a keyboard and the like, of thecomponent mounting apparatus 201 of FIG. 10 or the component mountingapparatus 211 of FIG. 11.

As a concrete example of conditions, how to handle spare componentinformation, and whether the spare component information is to bedetected and judged beforehand or at each time, are set as describedbelow. Every time component lack occurs in the first and secondembodiments, spare components are determined and determined informationis stored as spare component information 20 c in memory part 20, basedon which a spare component detection judgment process ((S10) in FIG. 1),of judging whether components can be used as spare components, isexecuted. On the other hand, in the spare component designation process(S20) in the third embodiment, prior to a mounting start process (S1) ofFIG. 1, component arrangement states of all spare components atcomponent feed part 16 are read by component feed control part 22, whichis an example of a spare component detection device. The readinformation is registered beforehand as spare component information 20 din the memory part 20. For instance, in the case of the component feedpart 16 in FIG. 5A, such information is stored as spare componentinformation 20 d which informs that a P1-type component is found atcomponent arrangement position Zn+1 when a P1-type component atcomponent arrangement position Z1 is absent, and a P-type component ispresent at arrangement position Zn+2 when a P-type component is absentat component arrangement position Zn+1.

During execution of a spare component detection judgment process ((S10)of FIG. 1), at an occurrence of component lack, simply searching andjudging data of spare component information 20 d in the memory part 20enables immediate determination of component arrangement positions ofspare components. Accordingly, for every component lack, a detectionjudgment process of reading all information of component arrangementpositions of spare component feed area 16 s, of component feed part 16,from component data 20 b by the component feed control part 22 tothereby detect and judge whether replaceable spare components arepresent or not, and an extra process, for example, of moving andpositioning the component information detection part 18 to each partscassette 16 a, and reading information of component names from the partscassettes 16 a, can be eliminated together without a loss of time.Productivity can thus be further improved.

If information of subject spare components is adapted to be directlyinput as spare component information 20 d, via a keyboard into memorypart 20 under control of input/output control part 21 via operation part11, 111 in the spare component designation process ((S20) represented bythe chain line in FIG. 1), in the third embodiment of the presentinvention, and if data of a relationship between types and componentarrangement positions of spare components is added to spare componentinformation 20 d in the memory part 20 beforehand, procedures aresimilarly carried out as according to the above embodiments, so that afree alternate operation is realized even if the component feed controlpart 22 in charge of spare component detection judgment process fails.

The spare component designation process of the third embodiment ((S20)indicated by the chain line in FIG. 1) thus enables information 20 d ofsubject spare components to be directly input from the operation part11, 111, to form spare component information 20 d, even in the absenceof component feed control part 22 as a spare component detection deviceof the conventional component mounting apparatus 10, 110 of FIGS. 10 and11. A free alternate operation is thus achieved similarly.

According to the third embodiment, components to be used in common withvarious types of boards are registered beforehand as spare componentinformation 20 d. Therefore, when types of boards to be produced areswitched, types of components to be mounted are determined fromregistered component types in the component feed part 16 and thus,presence/absence of spare components can be judged efficiently. It isnot necessary to detect spare components from the component feed part 16at each occurrence of component lack. Since spare components can beexchanged in a shortened process of equipment at occurrence of componentlack, productivity can be improved further.

Fourth Embodiment

A component feed method, a component feeding apparatus, a componentmounting method, and a component mounting apparatus according to afourth embodiment of the present invention features a spare componentswitch process (S11A). As shown in FIG. 7, in a spare component switchprocess, a component mounting order reorganization process (S12) of FIG.7 is performed at a component mounting order reorganization process part240, indicated by a chain line in FIG. 6, after a spare component switchprocess (S11) of FIG. 1 is performed.

Generally in mounting components, components 5 are removed fromcomponent feed part 16 by mounting heads 13 and mounted to printedboards 1. In component mounting apparatus 201 in which the partscassettes 16 a of the component feed part 16 slide, as shown in FIGS. 3and 10, in the case where it is necessary for a mounting head 13, afterremoving a spare component, to move a long distance via an XY robot to aremoval position to remove a subsequent component, as indicated bymounting program 20 a during execution of a free alternate operation, anoperation if carried out according to a mounting order as indicated byan original mounting program before a component is switched to a sparecomponent would produce waste. Production time per one board, that is, amounting cycle time is greatly deteriorated thereby loweringproductivity. As such, when a difference of movement distances ofmounting head 13, before and after a spare component is switched during(S11), is not smaller than a predetermined threshold value, a componentmounting order reorganization process ((S12) in FIG. 7) is performed bycomponent mounting order reorganization process part 240 as shown by thechain line in FIG. 6. The component mounting order is reorganized andthe mounting program 20 a is rewritten so that mounting head 13 can movea shorter distance between a mounting position and a component feedposition. Even when a component arrangement position is changed becauseof the spare component switch process ((S11) of FIG. 7), a suitablecomponent mounting order, matching a feed state of the component feedpart 16 is calculated not to decrease mounting cycle time andproductivity and, then, the mounting program 20 a is automaticallyregenerated. Production can be continued accordingly.

Fifth Embodiment

According to a component feed method, a component feeding apparatus, acomponent mounting method, and a component mounting apparatus accordingto a fifth embodiment of the present invention, component feed part 16,116 in its entirety is treated as a spare component feed area 16 s toproduce optional types of boards 1 in the mounting apparatus 201 of FIG.3 or mounting apparatus 211 of FIG. 4. At a production start process(step S1 of FIG. 1), component feed control part 22 detects informationof component types, component arrangement positions, and the like of theentire component feed part 16, 116, so that component arrangement dataof component data 20 b of component feed control part 22, to be used bymounting program 20 a, is automatically generated for production. Inthis case, it is enough to read only component arrangement data during aspare component detection judgment process. If a plurality of the samecomponents are detected, these may be stored in spare componentinformation.

With this constitution, components can be mounted correctly without anoperator's awareness of a set position of parts cassettes 16 a or 116 arelative to the component feed part 16, 116 (referred to as “free layoutproduction”). Furthermore, highly productive and high-quality productionis enabled in association with a component mounting order reorganizationprocess described in the fourth embodiment ((S12) of FIG. 7).

The present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments andcan be embodied in various forms. For example, although the componentdetection device is constituted of component information memory 17 andcomponent information detection part 18 in the above description of theembodiments, other kinds of sensors or any other device that can judgetypes of components, e.g., ID code or the like can be used.

In the second embodiment, the mounting head 113 described holds onecomponent 5. However, the mounting head 113 may be equipped with multinozzles to hold a plurality of, e.g., four components as shown in FIG.12, or two or more mounting heads 113 can be set in the mountingapparatus.

Component arrangement data of component data 20 b is containable inmounting program 20 a.

A spare component is not necessarily a substitute of the same type. Asubstitute of the same characteristic or even a substitute manufacturedby a different maker and having a different characteristic (e.g.,temperature characteristic), which matters little, is utilizable. Inthat case, whether the spare component is proper or not is judged on thebasis of a component characteristic or the like, not the component typeas above, and information of the component characteristic or the like isstored for this purpose. Also, information of both component type andcomponent characteristic can be used to make the judgment.

According to the component feed method, component feeding apparatus,component mounting method, and component mounting apparatus in oneembodiment of the present invention, as described above, sparecomponents can be automatically determined from a component feed partwhere parts cassettes and parts trays, holding components, are setoptionally. A need of setting components to component arrangementpositions of a component feed part as designated is eliminated.Moreover, a need of forming a mounting program for designating sparecomponent information for every type of various boards to be produced iseliminated. Preparation and management work for switching of productiontypes is reduced. Concretely, spare components are detected within thecomponent feed part, and whether spare components are set in thecomponent feed part is automatically judged without interruptingproduction or productivity while decreasing a mounting cycle time evenduring an occurrence of component lack. With spare components detectedto be present in the component feed part, the spare components areutilized to continue production, so that productivity is improved. In acase where types or characteristics of spare components set in thecomponent feed part are determined, only when the spare components setin the component feed part are judged to fit a type or characteristic tobe mounted, are the spare components used. Accordingly, failuresresulting from wrong setting or wrong supplement of components can beavoided and product quality can be improved.

A spare component feed area in a component feed part may not be fixed inposition. The component feed part in its entirety can be allotted as thespare component feed area, or the component feed part may be dividedinto a plurality of blocks, all of, one of or some of which arerespectively employed as spare component feed areas. Also, a furtheridea is conceivable, whereby component arrangement positions as part ofcomponent arrangement positions in the component feed part may bedesignated as the spare component feed area. Since the spare componentfeed area can be freely set at the component feed part, more favorableand more flexible free alternate operation is realized.

In another embodiment of the present invention, components to be used incommon among various types of boards are registered as spare componentinformation beforehand. In switching the types of boards, a type orcharacteristic of components to be mounted is detected from a registeredtype or characteristic of components in a component feed part, thusenabling effective judgment with regard to presence/absence of sparecomponents. Detection of spare components from the component feed partis not necessary for each occurrence of component lack. Switching can behandled in a shorter time in line to cope with component lack, andproductivity can be further improved.

According to the present invention in another embodiment, after sparecomponents are automatically switched during a spare component switchprocess due to an occurrence of component lack, a mounting ordermatching a switched feed state for the spare components is performed andthe mounting program is regenerated during a component mounting orderreorganization process. Thus, highly productive and high-qualityproduction can be performed.

Moreover, in another embodiment of the present invention, because ofautomatically detecting spare components from a component feed part setoptionally, a need of setting subject spare components to a componentfeed position of the component feed part as designated is eliminated. Amounting program for designating spare component information for eachtype of board is not required to be formed even when various types ofboards are to be produced. Preparation, management work, and the likefor switching can be reduced effectively.

A feed position of spare components of types or characteristics isdetermined from a component feed part, so that wrong production becauseof wrong setting of spare components can be prevented.

Although the present invention has been fully described in connectionwith the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes andmodifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes andmodifications are to be understood as included within the scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims unless they departtherefrom.

1. A component feed method for supplying a component to be mounted ontoa printed circuit board, comprising: detecting an occurrence of a lackof a component at a designated component arrangement position of acomponent feed part, wherein the component and the designated componentarrangement position are designated by a mounting program; using a firstreading device to read component information from a memory feature inthe component feed part; based on the component information read fromthe memory feature, determining whether a spare component is in a sparecomponent feed area of the component feed part; judging whether thespare component is located in the spare component feed area at a sparecomponent arrangement position; and when the spare component is judgedto be located at the spare component arrangement position within thespare component feed area, switching from supply of the component fromthe designated component arrangement position to supply of the sparecomponent from the spare component arrangement position.
 2. Thecomponent feed method according to claim 1, wherein judging whether thespare component is located within the spare component feed areacomprises judging whether the spare component is located within acomponent feed area other than a component feed area designated by themounting program.
 3. The component feed method according to claim 1,wherein determining, based on the component information read from thememory feature in the component feed part, whether the spare componentis in the spare component feed area of the component feed pair comprisesdetermining, based on spare component information previously stored andread from the memory feature in the component feed part, whether thespare component is in the spare component feed area of the componentfeed part.
 4. The component feed method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: using the first or another reading device to read previouslystored spare component information from a memory feature in thecomponent feed part; and based on the spare component information readfrom the memory feature, determining a component arrangement state ofthe spare component when judged to be in the spare component feed area.5. A component feed method for supplying a component to be mounted ontoa printed circuit board, comprising: detecting an occurrence of a lackof a component at a designated component arrangement position of acomponent feed part, wherein the component and the designated componentarrangement position are designated by a mounting program; determiningwhether a spare component is in a spare component feed area of thecomponent feed part; and when the spare component is judged to belocated in the spare component feed area, switching from supply of thecomponent from the designated component arrangement position to supplyof the spare component from the spare component feed area.